A grand jury indicted four Maryland teenagers accused of sexually assaulting football teammates with a broomstick Thursday.
The teens, who allegedly committed the crime at Damascus High School, were previously charged with “one count of first-degree rape, three counts of attempted first-degree rape and one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree rape,” The Washington Post reported.
The indictments added three more conspiracy charges for the 15-year-old suspects.
The suspects, Jean Claude “JC” Abedi, Kristian “KJ” Jamal Lee, Will Daniel Smith and Caleb Thorpe, were all charged as adults.
One of the victim’s father found out about the alleged abuse after finding his son crying in his room on Oct. 31. The father reported the incident to the school, according to ABC News.
“JC Abedi and KJ Lee grabbed [victim B] by the shoulders and threw him on the floor,” ABC News reported. “One of them held his feet down and while he was face down on the ground, his pants were pulled down and he was ‘poked in his buttocks with the wooden broom.'”
Another victim was allegedly punched in the face and stomped on, according to ABC News.
Pictured is a boy being bullied by two other boys. SHUTTERSTOCK/LightField Studios
Some of the suspects and the alleged victims told officials the incident was part of a “tradition” done to junior varsity football players. School officials said they were unaware of the football program’s alleged tradition, according to WaPo.
Attorney Shelly Brown, who is representing Thorpe, said her client “should be treated as a child in the justice system,” ABC News reported. (RELATED: Dartmouth To Hire Investigator To Dig Into Hazing Allegations Against 13 Student Groups)
“Jean Claude is a young man who is caught up in case that is larger than him,” Daniel Wright, Abedi’s attorney, said to ABC News. “Why is the school and the state seeking to fix all of the blame only on children?”
Damascus High School is part of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), the largest school district in the state.
MCPS did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.